


Ever After

by Darnskippytootin



Series: In Bloom [2]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Flower Shop, Autistic Ruby, F/F, Fluff and Angst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-20
Updated: 2016-07-20
Packaged: 2018-07-25 17:03:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,700
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7540807
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Darnskippytootin/pseuds/Darnskippytootin
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Much like the four seasons, everything that has bloomed and grown must eventually wither and die.<br/>A grimm fate perhaps, but often a necessary one if new wonders should be allowed to bloom in their stead, as Ruby and Blake are soon about to find out.</p>
<p>Of course, when it comes to people, and especially relationships, rebirth isn't always guaranteed...</p>
            </blockquote>





	Ever After

Ruby Rose was a lot of things. A florist, a shop owner, sister, daughter, niece… tired… _so_ tired...  
Many would consider Ruby’s current exhaustion as a matter of course. After all, having to wake up everyday during (and sometimes before) sunrise to restock on flowers could take its toll on just about anybody. But, while Ruby might have been a lot of things, there was one thing that she absolutely was not, and that was an armature.  
Ruby had been in the floristry business for quite some time. Hell, Ruby would claim that she had been a working florist most of her life! Okay, granted those first few years might only have consisted of her sitting on top of the desk, swinging her legs and chewing on sweets as she watched her mother work, but still! Ruby could be a keen observer when she chose to be, and she had used all of her observations to help her shape one of the best darn flower shops this side of Vale!

The _only_ flower shop this side of Vale, but whatever.

The point was, that Ruby had worked her butt off for years, and wouldn’t dare allow such a trivial thing as _waking hours_ to be her shop's downfall, so she had quickly forced herself to be well accustomed to rising with the sun. This, of course, might leave you wondering. If early waking hours wasn’t the reason for Ruby’s extreme fatigue, then what was? Well, her spontaneous decision to go jogging at midnight might have been one of them.

Ruby dragged a chair to the front desk of her shop. She had a bad habit of pushing her body’s physical abilities far beyond it’s limit while running, and could clearly feel her muscle’s adamant protest the longer she stood. Ruby sat down gratefully. Thinking back, Ruby realized that taking a midnight jog might not have been the best idea, but she really couldn’t help it. It had been one of those moments where lying down, and staying still in general, had felt more taxing than it should have, and neglecting the urge to move for the sake of rest had turned that ache within her body to outright pain. It wasn’t anything Ruby wasn’t used to, as a matter of fact, it was quite a common occurrence. The only reason why it bothered her today, was because it had happened during the least convenient of times. The one time that Ruby had to wake up earlier than usual to finish something important.

A gift, to be exact.

Ruby hated wrapping presents. The grating sound of paper and tape made her head ache. She would often have to take breaks, lest she had a meltdown, which was why she hadn’t been able to finish the gift before it’s due date. Ruby casted a glance towards the clock hanging on the far side wall. She still had half an hour before she could give her present.  
Who was this special gift for? Well, it was for an even more special person.

Blake Belladonna.

One year ago, Blake had come to Ruby’s shop, looking for work. The two of them had been working together in the shop as coworkers ever since. To say that Blake’s arrival in Ruby’s life had been a life changing event, would be the understatement of the century. Even though it had taken a bit of time, she and Blake had eventually found some common ground to work off of (such as their love for books and their dislikes of most social situations and crowded places) despite their differences.  
Ruby was proud to call Blake one of her best friends, and while she would never in her life admit it to anyone, not even Yang, Ruby had always greatly admired Blake. Honestly, how could she not? Blake was nice, smart, brave, and just in general a really great person, even if she _was_ kind of closed off sometimes... but that didn't change the fact that Ruby still thought the world of her.  
Ruby had really appreciated how open Blake had been about her Asperger’s. To be frank, that had been Ruby’s biggest fear, when she had looked for an assistant. Thankfully, Blake had been nothing but understanding and considerate to Ruby’s needs, and had always tried her best to help whenever she could. Ruby was really lucky to have someone like Blake in her life. She only hoped that her present could convey how grateful she really was.

 

Blake had never been a morning person. Being torn from sleep by the blaring alarm on her nightstand always felt like running face-first into a brick wall. Sadly, she never had the excuse of being out cold to keep her in bed. Oddly enough, when Blake woke up that morning, that usual sense of dread that filled her from the prospect of getting up, didn’t really seem to register. If anything, Blake had the weird compulsion to get to work as quickly as possible, though she didn’t know why. Don’t get her wrong. It’s not like she disliked working in the flower shop. Quite the opposite. Working together with Ruby had quickly become her favorite time of the day, and she would often miss her friend’s company while alone in her apartment. Blake just couldn’t shake off the weird feeling that today was… different. She didn’t know in what way, whether good or bad, but a feeling in her gut seemed persistent in the fact that today was special, and in Blake’s experience, her gut was usually right. As Blake set about getting some clothes on and eating a rushed breakfast, she led her mind wonder as to what made this day any different than all the others.  
_Is it someone’s birthday? God, if I miss another one of Sun’s birthday’s he’ll give me the silent treatment for at_ least _a week. Or a couple of days, if he’s feeling forgiving._

Picking up her scroll, Blake decided that checking the date would be the best way to figure out what important event she might have forgotten. Still drowsy from sleep, Blake was briefly blinded by the fluorescent light of the screen before the numbers slowly came into focus. Suddenly, the significance of today came rushing to her.

It had been over a year since Ruby had hired her.

That thought really shouldn’t have made her so dumbstruck, but it did. One year ago, Ruby’s flower shop had been Blake’s last hope to ever get hired despite her faunus appendage. Ruby had hired her practically on the spot, and the two of them had been working together ever since. Each day had consisted of selling flowers, making bouquets, and building a robust friendship. Blake was surprised by how easy it was to be around Ruby. She was possibly the least judgmental and open person Blake had ever known, not to mention sweet and utterly adorable, making each working day feel like a blast.

God, but one year? Blake had heard the saying of time going fast when you’re among good company, but she could still barely comprehend it!

After finishing her breakfast with a vigor that surprised herself, Blake left for work. The shop was blissfully close to her apartment, only about a ten-minute walk or so. As she walked, Blake found herself wondering what another year together with Ruby would entail. Would it be more of the usual? A quiet atmosphere with a good and honest friend, drinking tea during the slow hours and sharing thoughts and pleasant conversations? Even if that sounded pretty swell, Blake idly wondered if she should try to change things up this year? New year might already have passed, and Blake really wasn't the type to make resolutions anyway, but maybe she would make a difference this time. Only thing was, Blake had no idea what she should strive to achieve. As far as she was concerned, life was pretty good. She had a stable job and a great friend. Even though Blake still had some regrets... they more than made up for it. That's what Blake liked to think, anyway.

Blake didn’t realize that she had made it to her destination until she passed a familiar bakery, and looked up to be greeted by a familiar sign.

_“Summer’s Last Rose”_

A small smile tugged on Blake’s lips as she walked in through the front door. Normally, she would take the back and get dressed in her apron as quickly as possible, but for the sake of nostalgia, she decided to walk the same steps that she had walked precisely one year ago.

Blake didn’t know what she expected when her eyes fell on the front desk. Usually, Ruby would be zoning out on a specific object in the shop before finally noticing Blake, then greeting her with a friendly wave and an even friendlier smile. Occasionally though, she would be in the back, tending to some final things before getting ready to open the shop, which always gave Blake the perfect opportunity to get the jump on her whenever she was feeling unusually sadistic towards her friend.  
This time however, Ruby was neither zoning out or working. She was _asleep_.

Blake cautiously approached the snoozing woman. It wasn’t the first time Blake had caught Ruby dozing off, but if was the first time she had seen it happen before the shop’s opening. Blake went to wake her friend up, when her eyes suddenly fell on a small package placed under Ruby’s arms as a makeshift support for her arms which were acting as pillows. Curiosity poked at Blake with a prickly stick, and before she knew it, Blake found herself reaching for the package, trying to dislodge it from under Ruby’s arms as gently as possible. Apparently, she wasn’t gentle enough. The moment Blake started to tug, Ruby jolted upright at an impossible speed, making Blake jump up like a frightened… thing which she was not going to call by name, because she had much more respect for herself than that.

“I’M WASN’T SLEEPING!” Ruby screamed as she bolted up, still delirious from her “not” sleep.

“Clearly…” Blake’s hand remained over her heart after the chock had passed. She gave Ruby a second to regain her bearings before looking her over. If Blake had any doubts earlier, the look on her coworker clearly showed that she hadn’t gotten much, if any, sleep whatsoever. Messy hair, disheveled clothes and dark circles under Ruby’s eyes could testify to that fact. “Did you not get any sleep at all last night?”  
It took Ruby a second to process Blake’s question. She smiled nervously and scratched the back of her head, looking down.

“Heh… not really. I went for a jog late at night, ‘cus I was getting all restless and junk… Not to mention I had to wake up extra early to-” Ruby stopped dead in her track as her eyes widened, looking like a deer in the headlights. Blake noticed that Ruby’s gaze was pointed dead-center at the package she had tried to… erh… “investigate” earlier, which was still trapped beneath Ruby’s arms. Blake was about to comment on it when Ruby suddenly snapped her head up so quickly Blake swore she had heard her neck snap. If it did, Ruby paid it no mind to, instead, donning what Blake assumed was supposed to be an easygoing smile, though it looked more like an anxious grimace. “B-but anyway I’m used to it you know so no big deal it’s all good, how did you sleep?” Ruby’s blabbering fell on deaf ears as Blake was too distracted by Ruby’s poor attempt at hiding the mysterious package against her chest, further away from Blake’s prying eyes. The non-so-subtle gesture went far from unnoticed, as Ruby soon realized, but she seemed persistent to remain clueless, for some reason. Blake had never been the type to beat around the bush, and decided that Ruby’s charade had gone on for long enough. She decided to move around the counter until she was standing right in front of her coworker, with no obstacle between them. She nodded down to the package.

“You _do_ realize that I am going to find out what that is sooner or later, right?” Despite the seriousness in her voice, Blake couldn't hide the smirk that formed on her lips as she noticed a cold sweat starting to drip down Ruby's forehead. Ruby bit her lips as she shifted her gaze from Blake, to her arms, then Blake again. Finally, she let out a sigh.

“Okay… but first, you gotta close you eyes!” Ruby pointed defiantly despite the slight shake to her voice. Blake rolled her eyes good-naturedly before doing as asked. A couple of seconds passed as Blake assumed Ruby was making sure that Blake wasn’t trying to sneak a peek through her eyelashes. “Great. Now, put your hands forwards” Blake reached out her arms, fingers already eager to grab whatever Ruby had been trying to hide so adamantly. A rectangular shape was placed in her hands, and Blake finally opened her eyes. Now that she could get a better look, Blake finally saw that the package Ruby had been hiding was...

“A present?”

Ruby nodded. She rubbed her hands as she fixed her gaze on the gift in Blake’s hands. Blake barely noticed the slight flush that had quickly spread to her cheeks,

“I know it may sound dumb, but… you’ve been working here for a year now, and I just thought that we should celebrate, you know?” Ruby’s hand moved to rub her neck instead, her free one clenching by her side. She lifted her gaze to meet Blake’s eyes briefly before quickly darting to the walls, then moving to some of the bouquets on the high selves. “I mean…This year has really been the greatest I’ve had since I rebuild the shop, and that’s entirely because of you! I guess I just… wanted to make sure you knew how glad I am that we’re coworkers…So, yeah,” Ruby let her other hand fall to her side and settled her eyes on Blake’s hands “present.”

Blake found herself completely speechless. She was so overwhelmed by everything, that she found herself at a los for what to do. What should she say. Well yeah “thank you” obviously, but didn’t Ruby deserve more than that? Having going to such great length just to make Blake feel appreciated… Shouldn’t Blake say something to show how grateful she was of Ruby in return? But god, Blake had never been good at this kind off thing, how in the world could she… articulate her thanks and not feel like a complete idiot?  
This all became too much for Blake, and she quickly decided that giving her hands something to do would be the best course of action, before she said something dumb like “uh, thanks…” Blake idly wondered if Ruby had wrapped the present herself, or got someone else to do it. She faintly remembers Ruby telling her that she didn’t like the sound of paper and tape. Was this the other reason why Ruby hadn’t gotten any sleep last night?  
Blake barely managed to keep herself from tearing away the wrapping with a single yank, and removed it cautiously to make sure the sound wouldn’t be so grating to Ruby’s ears. Finally, the wrapping was gone. Blake let it fall down onto the desk as she gazed into the back of what appeared to be a book, if the wall of text was anything to go by. Blake had been preparing to voice her gratitude when she turned the book over-

And came face to face with an all too familiar cover.

For just a moment, the shop and Ruby seemed to disappear before her, and Blake was left with nothing but fire. Cruel embers scorching in front of her eyes, a searing pain agonizing her cheek, the smell of melting ink and pages set aflame invading her nostrils, blood on her tongue and an ear-piercing yell burned through her ears-

_“Blake?”_

Blake’s head snapped up, eyes wide with surprise. Ruby’s hands hovered in front of her, unsure whether or not she should reach out to Blake or not. “Are you okay? You sorta… spaced out on me there. If you don’t like the present you can just say it, I won’t mind!” Ruby slapped herself in the forehead. “ _God_ , I’m such a dummy… I _knew_ I should have gotten you that tea set instead!”

“Ruby.”

“I-I just, I thought about all those talks we had together about books, and when you told me about that novel and how much you loved it as a kid- “

“ _Ruby_.”

“I just thought it would have been a nice present, you know? Like, a hit of nostalgia to celebrate the time that has gone by to prepare us for the future to come…! That sounded a lot better in my head, now that I think about it-” Ruby finally stopped when she felt Blake’s hand cover her entire mouth, preventing her from doing much more talking. She looked at Blake in surprise. Piercing amber eyes looked at her with slight exasperation, but when a few seconds flew by, her features started to soften, and a small bloomed on her face. Blake let go of Ruby’s mouth before enveloping her in a hug. Holding her tightly. It took Ruby a second to return the hug, but once she did, she did so with gusto. Blake’s hugs were rare, but oh so nice.

“Thank you, Ruby.” Blake whispered affectionately. “This year… has been really great for me too…” Ruby felt a slight nuzzle against her cheek, from the corner of her eye, she could see Blake’s tail swaying gently. “And that’s thanks to you.” Ruby was glad that Blake couldn’t see her scarlet red face, though might have been able to feel her warm cheeks. Ruby returned the nuzzle, sighing happily and hugging Blake even tighter.

“Heh… don’t mention it.’” Ruby still wondered what had made Blake blank out so intensely when she had opened her present, but for now, she was content to just stay there, in Blake’s arm. God, Blake’s hugs were always so warm and… just, pleasant. Kinda like Yang’s, just with a lesser chance of suffocation. Ruby could have stayed there forever…

“Ruby… I… really appreciate the present and all, but… I can’t breathe…”

Darn…

 

A gentle breeze swayed the trees behind them as they stood in silence. Weiss tugged her scarf closer to her neck as she regarded Yang, hunched over the grave of her step-mother, brushing of winter’s last remainder of snow from the grave stone, the inscriptions now legible.

_"Summer Rose_  
_Thus Kindly I Scatter"_

Yang pulled herself to her feet, folding her hands in a silent prayer. Weiss considered this as her opportunity to pay her respects to a woman whom she had never meet, but was eternally grateful for. She put down the bouquet of red roses she and Yang had picked from Taiyang’s garden, as was tradition for their family during these visits. Yang grasped Weiss’ hand with her human one squeezing gently. Weiss squeezed back before she felt Yang pull her hand to her lips, pressing one soft kiss to her knuckles, and then her ring donned finger. The way Yang smiled at her, not an attempt to hide her pain, but an honest show of trust when she was most vulnerable, made Weiss feel like she might possibly have been the most fortunate woman in the entire world. She gave her fiancé a gentle kiss, lingering against her lips as the two simply stood there in the comfort of the others presence. Finally, Weiss decided that this moment of tranquility was the best opportunity to finally share her thoughts about a recent conversation.

“You remember what we talked about? Right before we left Vale?” Yang pulled back to regard Weiss, her brow creasing just slightly as she seemed to be in deep thought. Finally, she answered with a simple shrug.

“Other than the hour long conversation we had about packing priorities? Not really.” Yang answer was accompanied by a teasing grin. Weiss fought against the urge to chide Yang, simply shaking her head, though not before flicking her brute in the forehead, swiping that frustrating smirk of her face.

“No you dunce… I meant before we even started packing. When we were talking about the last preparations…?” Realization finally donned on Yang.

“Oh _that_! Yeah, now I remember.” Yang looked with interest as she kissed Weiss hands again, smiling lovingly. “Why? Have you found someone we could ask?” Weiss nodded slowly.

“Well, I wouldn’t necessarily say that I _found_ her. She simply popped up in my head as the most… _appropriate_ choice.”

“Well, great! She must be pretty good is she can live up to the expectation of Weiss Schnee herself” Weiss’ eyes narrowed at the remark, still, she would let that one slide… for now.

“Well, you seem pretty confidant in her abilities, so I thought I might put some faith in your judgment, for once.” Yang looked positively befuddled, and her next remark conveyed as such.

“Okay, you totally lost me. How could I possibly know her? The only person I know who specializes in these sort of stuff is- “Yang’s eyes widened, her grip on Weiss’ hand tightened as she looked attentively into her eyes. “Wait... are you saying that...?” Weiss nodded, pulling Yang down for another kiss as she whispered against her lips.

“I want Ruby to do it” Yang couldn’t help but grin like an idiot as she kissed Weiss with all the passion her heart could muster. Still, even though she was happy, she had to make sure that her joy was shared.

"You don't have to do it for  _my_ sake, you know? I would be happy with anyone else if that's what you want..." Weiss nodded, pulling Yang down to plant a kiss against her forehead.

"I know... but I chose Ruby, so it looks like we'll be stuck with her." Yang snorted, making the both of them laugh.

"Well... guess it's settled then." 

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Alright! Back in action! I don't really got a lot to say, other than constructive criticism is, as always, very much appreciated, especially in regards to Ruby in this story.  
> I don't have Asperger's myself, or know anybody with Asperger's, so if any of you guys find something problematic with the way i portray it, please let me know. 
> 
> Thanks for Reading! 'Till next time!


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